Bodies found in Lake Worth canals could be connected to stolen car ditched in canal earlier this week

Two bodies pulled from different areas of a suburban Lake Worth canal Thursday morning are believed to be those of people accused of stealing a car this week, according to a person who said she was a close friend of one of the suspected thieves.

A sheriff’s deputy said the bodies found are believed to be connected to the case.

One body was found in the E-4 canal, 100 yards south of Lake Worth Road near the softball fields at John Prince Park in suburban lake Worth.

The second was found in the E-4 just west of the city limits, between Second Avenue North and 10th Avenue North, sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.

A person at the scene near John Prince Park said she was a friend of one of the car thieves. The other person whose body was found was with her friend Tuesday morning when they were chased by police Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies reported that they spotted a stolen car just before 4 a.m. near 10th Avenue North and Boutwell Road. The sheriff’s office said at the time that five people were believed to be in the car.

Deputies reportedly tried to stop the car, a four-door silver Buick, after the driver ran a red light.

As the deputies tried to stop the Buick, the driver drove it into a canal – either deliberately or because of umfamiliarity with the area, Barbera said.

One person, a juvenile, got out the car and ran into a nearby vacant field, deputies said. The juvenile was found and taken into custody without incident.

He was later heard telling Palm Beach County Fire Rescue paramedics that he was in the car and got out before it went into the water, a sheriff’s report said.

He was later taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center in West Palm Beach.

Sheriff’s deputies searched for several other suspects, but weren’t immediately able to locate them.

The canal is near Flanigan’s Seafood Bar & Grill in the 2400 block of 10th Avenue North. The car sank into deep, swift moving water, according to Fire Rescue officials who were called to the scene.

The bodies were removed and taken to the medical examiner’s office, where autopsies will be performed, Barbera said.